The Center for Civic Education (CEO) submitted today to the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) an initiative for an urgent opinion on the Law on Amendments to the General Law on Education.
The law, they remind, restored the provision according to which the relevant minister has the power to elect and dismiss directors of public educational institutions.
"CGO reminds that for more than a decade, the critically oriented NGO sector advocated for the abolition of the provision according to which such power is given to ministers, because it was a proven resource abused by political parties. This was also confirmed by KAS, through its opinion from 2021. Among other things, the ASK then recommended to the competent Ministry that, when preparing a new legal text in this area, the procedure for the selection of directors of educational institutions should not be appointed by the minister, but that the competence of selecting and dismissing directors should be one of the competences of the school, i.e. administrative of the board, especially bearing in mind that the interests of the Ministry are represented through representatives in the boards, and most importantly, the interests of employees in educational institutions, students and parents, and their decision would reflect the best interest of the school," said Snežana Kaluđerović, senior legal officer advisor at CGO.
That NGO believes that it is very important for KAS to issue such an opinion again, that is, to confirm this earlier position, "and bearing in mind the non-resistance of the education system to party influences and the consequences that this brings."
"The persistent advocacy of the civil sector and rare politicians who looked at this issue without personal benefit, as well as the above-mentioned opinion of the ASK - contributed to the fact that finally, about a year and a half ago, amendments were voted in which opened up space for decentralization and democratization of this system. Unfortunately, this was knowingly, and with bad intentions, annulled by the latest amendments to this law, which were adopted by the votes of the ruling majority, and on the proposal of the group of deputies of the Europe Now Movement (PES), during the extraordinary session in August, and after the president of the state returned them with arguments, citing the reasons mentioned above, after which they were adopted again in September 2024," said Kaluđerović.
CGE indicates that the relevant Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation is finalizing work on amendments to the General Law on Education, and the draft text has been published on their website for public discussion, "which is why the adoption of this opinion is urgent and necessary".
"It is in the public interest that the KAS gives a recommendation to the proponent with its opinion, so that the existing bad solutions, which create real and devastating risks of the collapse of integrity and corruption, would not remain in force. The CGE expresses the expectation that the KAS will act in this case as a priority and principled thus also their own integrity," the announcement concludes.
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